[lovingmummy]

Hi. My husband has been offered a job in Port Hedland and we will be moving from Bunbury. We are not sure yet which area, but we will have a little bit of a choice. I know the names of the schools and where they are, but I'm wondering what they're like? I have a child in Pre-Primary and a child in Year 3. Tell me anything you've experienced or heard, good or bad. Things like what the teachers are like, class sizes, special programs offered, resources, what the kids and families are like, NAPLAN, security/safety of the area, what the grounds are like, and anything else you can think of.

My girls are also hearing impaired (one with hearing aids and one without) and while they cope well with their own systems that we've put into place, it would also be good to know which schools have experience with hearing impaired kids.

Thanks so much in advance!

[SeaPrincess]

I've PMed you, but I didn't cover all of the above!
Ignore the NAPLAN results - the population is so transient that they're as good as useless - I think PHPS has a turnover rate of about 20%.
Web links:
St Cecilia's
Ed Dept Schools Online - do a search for Hedland and you can get some information on programs and things at the govt schools. (the site's not actually working for me right now, but usually it's good!)

[Quirk]

Having left Hedland because of the schools, I can honestly say, don't expect much from any of them!

St Cecilia's is good, however my friends children ended up so far behind that when they came back to Perth, they had to hire a tutor to help them catch up.

South Hedland has a horrible bullying reputation there and is considered the worst of the lot. In South, Baler and Cassia are much on a par, with Baler being bigger therefore having more resources, but having a very close-minded Principal who refuses to think outside the square.

The pick of the bunch IMO would be Port Hedland Primary.

But hey, that's just based on my experiences

[lovingmummy]

Thanks Quirk! It's great to get a perspective on all the schools, good or bad. We were tossing up between St Cecilia's and Port Hedland Primary, but leaning towards PH Primary. Sounds like we're leaning the right way! That's interesting what you said about your friend's kids needing a tutor when they went back to a Perth school as someone else I was chatting to said they came from a Perth school and then their kids were learning more at St Cecilia's. Probably depends on the teacher they have. They say that having a bad teacher is like the student being absent for 60% of the year.

Anyways, thanks for your perspective. I'd love to hear more if anyone else has any thoughts.

[SeaKitten]

IMO - The high school is TERRIBLE Boarding school would be the only option if you plan on staying that long....

[lovingmummy]

SeaKitten, what in particular is bad about the high school? I know nothing about it all, not even whether it's in Port or South, so anything you can tell me would be great (even though our kids are about five years away from attending high school). How recent is your knowledge of the school?